I am not the person who asked the question, but i am interested in your experiences as I am probably looking at L4 fusion due to a badly slipped/herniated disk. I had a laminectomy on my L5-S1 in outpatient surgery December 22, 2016. I have been in Physical Therapy for 4 weeks for both the surgery and to avoid major surgery on my L4. I thought things were getting better until I had a minor fender bender in a parking lot. I do mean minor too. My back and right side began hurting the next day, and now 2 1/2 weeks later I am in incapacitated so that I can make it to the bathroom and back with great pain. I think this time they will be doing a fusion on my L4. I am scheduled for an MRI but not until April 7th! That seems far away especially since I feel like I should be in the hospital right now.

Constant pain is wearing. I'm normally a positive, happy person, even when I've been in constant low-mid level pain for almost exactly one year now. The level of pain I feel now is conscious, heavy, and constant. I am already tired of carrying it after only 4 days. I asked my pain doctor to add Hydrocodone to my medications, but 5 mg/325 acetaminophen; 4 times a day wasn't working. I am also on Gabapentin 30 mg, 2 times a day; and Baclofen 10 mg, 3 times a day. I was taking Tramadol 40 mg, 4 times a day, but the doctor said to stop taking it when I started taking the Hydrocodone. However, none of these has masked the pain enough. I did take Tramadol along with the Hydrocodone for two doses before he said to take only one, not both, and was relieved of most of my pain. I had thought it was OK to take both because I read that they affect different parts of the brain. But, I'm not a doctor, so he knows best about these things.

I want to know how fusion of the L4 has worked for others and if it helped their pain levels. Thanks Gail B.